Dura Ace 9100/9150 noisier than 9000!

[aeroisnteverything]

Ordered directly from C-bear (email+paypal), mainly because I wanted red inserts instead of green that they usually come with. You can find resellers online as well, just google.

I kept the same chain length, and it works in all gears. I think optimally I need to add a couple of links to it, but as with the 12-speed chain, this will wait until current chains wear out.

Just checking in on your C-Bear pulley replacement. I have the samenoise issue with the stock pulleys as everybody else here in the forum, but want to avoid using a 12 speed chain if possible (to avoid the reported front shifting issues). I am interested in going for the C-Bear oversized pulleys as replacement for the stock Shimano ones. Did it fully solve the noise problem for you and how have the pulleys been working with the derailleur over time?

Yep, all grea with no issues - more than a year on now, and considerably more than 10k miles. Pulley wheel still spin like crazy, and the drivetrain is quiet. I kept on using the 11 speed KMC SL chains. Did not like the shifting with the 12-sp.

[mechkbfan]

Hi,

I have the same problem as everybody else here. Loud noise on DA 9150 at the pulley level when on the big chainring. The entire drivetrain is Shimano DA 9150 (52-36, 11-30) on a Tarmac SL6 with Roval CLX50s. I read everything here and it looks like the best option is to swap the stock pulleys for oversized ones. Per your suggestion, I ordered the J & L ones from eBay, but after reading some poor reviews here and there, I was also considering getting the Kogels 12/14 for peace of mind (and feeling safe on the bike). Just reaching out to you to confirm that the Kogels Gen 2 12/14 did solve the noise problem, and that shifting remained crisp. Would you suggest it is worth the $$$ investment. What 's your long-term impression of the pulleys?

Thanks for your input

How'd you go?

I've been having issues with my 9150 shifting and thankfully saw this thread which had a lot of relatable experiences.

Ordered some steel bearing ones (TRiPEAK) from Amazon and will see how they go

[OlivierB73200]

Thanks for your response. I might end up going for the C-Bear pulleys then, as they are cheaper than the Kogels. They are both 12t, correct? Did you have to add a link or two to your chain?

At any rate, happy to hear that the new pulleys have solved the problem, because I wanted to keep using a 11sp chain if at all possible.

Brief question about the 12 speed chain though, since you mentioned a poor shifting experience. Did you have problems at the RD or FD level, and what issues are we talking about?

[OlivierB73200]

Thanks for your response. I might end up going for the C-Bear pulleys then, as they are cheaper than the Kogels. They are both 12t, correct? Did you have to add a link or two to your chain?

At any rate, happy to hear that the new pulleys have solved the problem, because I wanted to keep using a 11sp chain if at all possible.

Brief question about the 12 speed chain though, since you mentioned a poor shifting experience. Did you have problems at the RD or FD level, and what issues are we talking about?

[OlivierB73200]

In a word: SUCCESS!!! Dead Silent!

So what did I do? I followed ALL of the recommendations in the most very recent posts. Thanks mightily to Ryanw. Alas, since I swapped out each item at the same time, you'll have to pick and choose what might work best for you depending on your setup.

Here's exactly what I did, step by step:

First, I removed the old components from the drivetrain (which as a reminder were noisy from new and just got noiser):
-threw out old Shimano XTR/Dura-Ace 11-speed chain (CN-HG901)
-threw out old Shimano Ultegra 11-speed cassette 11-30t (CS-R8000)

Second, I removed the rear mech and verified that the rear mech hanger was dead straight. I was off by no more than 1-2 mm in each direction (seemingly acceptable to me) but I straightened it to dead perfect for posterity.

Third, I cleaned the rear mech thoroughly and:
-threw out the OEM jockey wheels (well, I actually saved them in my toolkit)

Fourth, I installed a new rear cassette, paying a premium for the Dura Ace over Ultegra:
-Shimano Dura-Ace 11-speed cassette 12-28t (CS-R9100)

Fifth, I installed new oversized jockey wheels. I realize that there is some debate as to their efficacy and value. However, there is no denying that the upper jockey wheel that I purchased did NOT have the longer teeth inherent to the OEM Shimano jockey wheel. Despite Ryanw's caution, I went with:
-Kogel Gen 2 12/14T oversized derailleur pulleys for Shimano Dura Ace R9100 (PUL-1214-9100-R) and they look every bit the kit

Sixth, and this will likely receive the most pushback, but on Beaver's and Steffen's recommendations, I decided to try a narrower 12-speed chain instead of the stock Dura-Ace one:
-Shimano XTR M9100 12-speed chain

Some comments on installation:
-Everything cranked down to torque spec
-Chain length determined using the big-big method plus 2 links as per Kogel's recommendation for oversized jockey wheels. For my part, I think I could have used 3 but 4 seemed way too long, so 2 it is. I do not ride cross-chained on big-big anyway so no big deal.
-Upon completion of installation, I re-optimized my Di2 using the E-tube software

The result after my first ride yesterday was miraculous. The bike is dead silent. It is quieter than any of the bikes in my quiver and was definitely quieter than any of the bikes of the guys with whom I ride. Just splendid. Very pleased with the end result.

Now, some further comments on ride and parting thoughts:
-Shifting is very good. I have not noticed a difference in performance. However, as a preliminary precaution, I am not shifting under full load. I'm taking it easy with the new chain since I'm still unsure of using the full mountain bike chain with Dura Ace. I posted a new thread on WW to see what other's think about the chain (does it have a different tooth/gap/pattern?). Consequently, I am entertaining the notion of swapping to the KMC DLC12 just to be safe.
-However, I think that the narrower chain is really the solution. As per Beaver's photo, my chain is absolutely not touching the adjoining cogs when in gear. There is NO grinding.
-Lastly, some people commented about the use of metal jockey wheels instead of the "plastic" OEMs and their impact on noise. There is no difference, other than the teeth. The Kogels are dead silent and look cool. Pricey as hell for what they are, though.

And that's that. Hopefully, this helps sort fellow sufferers out. The noise really detracted from the good experience. If I were short on cash and had to do it over again, I'd just do the following:
1. Make sure rear mech hanger dead straight.
2. Swap OEM pulley wheels for Kogel or J&L 12/14t ($20 on eBay)
3. Use a narrow 12-speed chain. Might not last as long but worth it for piece of mind.

Good luck fellas.

Hi there,

Do you think the Kogel 12t/12t or ceramicspeed 12t/12t will do the trick or does it have to be 12/14t?

[OlivierB73200]

I haven't made the switch yet, but I am considering first swapping my 11sp DA chain for the 12sp XTR to see how that goes. If noise levels are still high, and/or shifting sucks, I will try to swap the stock pulleys for oversized one. I already obtained the J&L ones, but they look quite flimsy, so I'll probably go for higher quality ones like Kogel, C-bear, or Ceramicspeed.

How did it go with the TriPeak ones?

Hi,

I have the same problem as everybody else here. Loud noise on DA 9150 at the pulley level when on the big chainring. The entire drivetrain is Shimano DA 9150 (52-36, 11-30) on a Tarmac SL6 with Roval CLX50s. I read everything here and it looks like the best option is to swap the stock pulleys for oversized ones. Per your suggestion, I ordered the J & L ones from eBay, but after reading some poor reviews here and there, I was also considering getting the Kogels 12/14 for peace of mind (and feeling safe on the bike). Just reaching out to you to confirm that the Kogels Gen 2 12/14 did solve the noise problem, and that shifting remained crisp. Would you suggest it is worth the $$$ investment. What 's your long-term impression of the pulleys?

Thanks for your input

How'd you go?

I've been having issues with my 9150 shifting and thankfully saw this thread which had a lot of relatable experiences.

Ordered some steel bearing ones (TRiPEAK) from Amazon and will see how they go

[dmtevo]

I've been reading through this tread as I suffer from the chain noise. Setup is Sworks SL6 50/34 with 11-28 Ultegra cassette running a shimano 11 speed chain. I've found that in the little ring everything is quiet but as soon as you move up to the big ring it's awful.

The solution I'm trying, based on reading this tread, is new pulleys in the rear mech. I'm based in the UK so opted for the Hope 12 tooth ones which arrive tomorrow. I'm going to swap those out and give it a go.... fingers crossed!

[OlivierB73200]

Let us know how that goes.

[dmtevo]

Hope jockey wheels installed.

It's still noisy, the noise is now really from the jockey wheels being aluminium. The previous sound has gone but has been replaced with the new noise.

Looking at it on the work stand it would suggest that the lower pulley isn't perfectly aligned with the upper. It's never been dropped and I don't think the hanger alignment would influence this although I haven't got a hanger alignment tool.

Not really sure where to go with this now. Look like I just need to live with it.

[OlivierB73200]

Sorry to hear it's still noisy. I'll keep you posted once I install the 12 speed chain.

[benhama]

Looking at C-Bear's web site I see there are quite a few variations of the jockey wheels. For those of you who have purchased the wheels are you able to confirm which ones as the prices vary greatly! Also, I would have thought that aluminium wheels might not be good for sound deadening!

https://www.c-bear.com/en/products/pulley-derailleur

[OlivierB73200]

Happy to report that the J & L pulleys (Ceramic, 12/14t, Delrin plastic) completely fixed the issue! I am stunned.

[alanyu]

Happy to report that the J & L pulleys (Ceramic, 12/14t, Delrin plastic) completely fixed the issue! I am stunned.

J L pulleys are great. The derlin is very durable and the performance is better than Shimano stocked ones. However, their bearings are BS. Too much play and no sealing. My first set was filed by the bearing covers, and I replaced them with sealed bearings. Even cheap bearings have much less play than their crappy ceramic ones.

[abonjour]

So I just had some huge success in getting the drivetrain quiet on both my Cervelo S5 and P5. They run 9170 and 8070 respectively, mainly with Silca Hot Melt chains, but Ive tried different lubes to help too.

I've been following this thread (and others) on and off so had tried what I thought was every suggestion, other than the 12spd chain and jockey wheels. I'd gotten things to a pretty good place by shifting the chainline inwards 2mm as I'd noted like others that things were not too bad in the little ring and big ring + the 11,12 & 13, but noisy in any other combo.

Shifting the chainline helped but didn't solve it. Plus it's only possible because I run quarq dzero cranks with a ceramicspeed bb so have spacers to play with. Don't think you can readily do that on the Shimano crank and may not be enough space on other bikes? However, this made things quiet for ~200km but then as the wax wore off just started to get really noisy again. I assumed it was more to do with my waxing setup until...

...I swapped the hangers out for Sigeyi direct mount versions! I actually made this changed for a different reason, but the difference was staggering - both bikes have become immediately dead silent through the whole range, despite the chains being at ~3-400km on their current rotation and fairly noisy before I made the swap. And I really do mean dead silent!

Apologies if the hanger has been mentioned before, I haven't read every single post, but I'm so blown away by the difference (and frustrated I didn't do this sooner) that I thought I'd share.

ps definitely a subtle but noticeable difference in shifting too. Never had a problem with shifting, but it has just become a very slightly more direct sensation.

[OlivierB73200]

So I just had some huge success in getting the drivetrain quiet on both my Cervelo S5 and P5. They run 9170 and 8070 respectively, mainly with Silca Hot Melt chains, but Ive tried different lubes to help too.

I've been following this thread (and others) on and off so had tried what I thought was every suggestion, other than the 12spd chain and jockey wheels. I'd gotten things to a pretty good place by shifting the chainline inwards 2mm as I'd noted like others that things were not too bad in the little ring and big ring + the 11,12 & 13, but noisy in any other combo.

Shifting the chainline helped but didn't solve it. Plus it's only possible because I run quarq dzero cranks with a ceramicspeed bb so have spacers to play with. Don't think you can readily do that on the Shimano crank and may not be enough space on other bikes? However, this made things quiet for ~200km but then as the wax wore off just started to get really noisy again. I assumed it was more to do with my waxing setup until...

...I swapped the hangers out for Sigeyi direct mount versions! I actually made this changed for a different reason, but the difference was staggering - both bikes have become immediately dead silent through the whole range, despite the chains being at ~3-400km on their current rotation and fairly noisy before I made the swap. And I really do mean dead silent!

Apologies if the hanger has been mentioned before, I haven't read every single post, but I'm so blown away by the difference (and frustrated I didn't do this sooner) that I thought I'd share.

ps definitely a subtle but noticeable difference in shifting too. Never had a problem with shifting, but it has just become a very slightly more direct sensation.

I'm interested in trying this out as well, but I admit not being versed in Direct Mounts. I run DA9150 on a regular S-works SL6 frameset. Can I just swap the regular hanger for a direct mount, and connect it to the derailleur after removing the b-link?